


Mission Nightmares

by TheBigLoserQueen



Series: My TFA Universe [30]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Death, F/M, Fights, Het, Kissing, Language, Psychological Trauma, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-22
Updated: 2015-08-22
Packaged: 2018-04-16 14:46:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4629195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBigLoserQueen/pseuds/TheBigLoserQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thornstriker was never expecting a quick mission to turn into a fight for her life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mission Nightmares

It was a mission gone horribly, horribly wrong.   
  
It was a simple infiltration of an abandoned neutral laboratory, the mission to hack into the main computer systems and take the left-over data of Project Augment. The research could potentially lead to construction of “perfected” energon, supposedly enhancing all Cybertronian systems when digested.   
  
Thornstriker had only joined the team as she knew the code to access the main computer, having worked there in the factory before the war broke out. She could also store the data into her back compartment and keep it secure with her.   
  
But no one had accounted for Decepticons knowing about Project Augment. Thornstriker had claimed that no Decepticon had worked in the laboratory. At least not from what the records showed. They couldn’t have known about it…  
  
Yet, they did know. And they had attacked the group and, currently, leaving Thornstriker to be the only survivor. Before her teammates went down, they had killed two of the seven Decepticons, leaving only two she did not recognize and three that she, unfortunately, did.  
  
It never occurred to her that something like this would happen. Something like her and Bloodshed coming across each other during a mission, each supposed to carry out their own duties to their faction. It was possible, she knew this, but she never thought about it becoming a reality.  
  
But now, as she could see Bloodshed standing by Novabomb and Nebula, the other two soldiers off to the side, it was very much a reality.   
  
At the moment, she was hiding in the shadows behind some hold metal crates, out of sight from the remaining Decepticons. They were searching for her, Novabomb actually  _calling out_  to her, wanting the data from her. She forced herself to remain silent, knowing she stood no chance in a fight with any of them.   
  
She had already sent out a distress beacon, but Primus knew how long it would take until someone responded to it. Her gun had been knocked out of her hand and Nebula had stepped on it, crushing it, leaving her without any means of self-defense. She knew of a panic room inside the lab, but it was too far from his current location to just run there without getting caught.   
  
She glanced down at her hand, which was clutching onto the flash drive that contained all the data to Project Augment. Just after she had finished extracting it from the main computer memory banks, the Decepticons had attacked, giving her little time to think about putting it in her back compartment. It wouldn’t be safe to do it now, considering if they hit her from behind in any way, the data could get ruined.   
  
She swallowed, trying to control her wild spark rate, which seemed to be beating about a mile per minute and pounding against her chassis. She needed to calm down… She needed to calm down-  
  
“Come on out, little Autobot~~~” Novabomb sang, much like a child, but carrying a dangerous and unsettling tone to it. “If you give us the data, we won’t hurt you~~ Come on out~~”  
  
Thornstriker trembled, clamping a hand over her mouth to keep herself quiet. She had to remain calm and focus. She was the only Autobot left, meaning the only one who could protect the data from the enemy. At least until help arrived, if it ever came.  
  
She had to get out of here. Barricade herself in one of the rooms until the help arrived. Or at least until she could figure out how to hide the data where the Decepticons could not find it.   
  
She turned her helm, optics widening when they got sight of an open vent by the stairwell. She peeked out from her hiding spot, mentally cursing to herself when she saw the positioning of the five Decepticons. Novabomb and another mech were up on the walkway suspended in the air while Bloodshed was over by the front door, the other mech by the main computer, while Nebula was only a few feet away from her current hiding spot.   
  
While the vent was close enough, she knew that Nebula was fast enough to catch her if she messed up in any way. Not to mention that Novabomb and the other mech were at the perfect position to gun her down if she moved from her spot.  
  
She bit her bottom lip, turning away from the Decepticons. There was a sixteen percent chance of her getting away without being detected while there was a split chance of him getting away while being detected or getting caught and captured or killed. Any way it went, it seemed to be a better strategy than just simply sitting there like dumb prey.  
  
Taking a deep, but quiet, breath, she wrapped her hand tightly around the data, clenching her fist so it wouldn’t slip from her grip. She carefully moved behind the crates, keeping pressed against them as she inched toward the edge of them. When she reached that edge, she peeked out a bit to see if anyone had moved from their position.  
  
Much to his luck, Nebula had crossed to the center of the room to meet up with Bloodshed, the two murmuring to each other. Thornstriker could only assume that it was about her, considering they were after the data she had. She glanced up at the two mechs above, the two still pacing, before she looked over at the mech by the computer, only he had moved over by the front door.  
  
She nodded to herself. Good - her chances of getting away had increased a bit. But only a bit. She still faced the horrid possibility of getting captured or killed if she failed to reach the vent.   
  
Damn it, she couldn't ponder on this any longer. She had to get out of there. Now.   
  
Taking one last final breath, she pushed away from the crates and dashed toward the vent.   
  
He was only a third of the way there when Nebula had turned her helm, spotting the little green femme. Her optics widened at the sight, Bloodshed also catching a look at the scientist as she made a break for it. She almost reached over to grab Nebula, telling her to not say a word, but Beatbox, the mech up with Novabomb, had turned to spot the flash of green.   
  
"Hey!" he cried, aiming his gun at the Autobot. "Found her!" Then he fired, trying to aim for the femme's helm.  
  
Thornstriker let out a small cry when she was shot at. She ducked, putting up her arms to shield her face. The shot barely missed her, hitting the wall behind her. The effects of the blast ricocheted off the wall, throwing her off her track a bit. She stumbled, but caught herself, forcing her legs to go faster than before to reach that vent.   
  
Nebula moved first, dashing toward the femme. While she knew better than to try and kill her, she had a mission to carry out: get that data. While she didn't have to kill Thornstriker, she still needed to hold her down. Bloodshed made no effort to stop her either. He knew of the mission as well. He could not simply dismiss it.   
  
Seeing Nebula run at her, Thornstriker knew that if she didn't reach that vent, she probably would be killed. Taking a risk, she dropped down and slid the rest of the way, skidding across the floor. Though he skinned some paint, she made it to the vent faster than if she had simply ran. She immediately flipped onto her knees and scrambled into the vent, crawling as fast as the small space would allow her.   
  
She shrieked in fright though when she felt a hand clamp down around her ankle. She turned over, optics widening in horror when she saw that Nebula had grabbed her. She pulled at her, dragging her a bit out of the vent. She screamed out in fright and in anger, slamming her free pede hard into her face.  
  
"Motherfuck-" She let go of her ankle, throwing her hands over her face as she gripped it tightly. She might have broken something, but she couldn't be sure. She highly doubted it though, considering she was not that strong.  
  
Thornstriker had no time to feel guilty. She simply turned over again and crawled as fast as she could, turning right down the vents, panting hard as she trembled violently. She did it. She got away.   
  
At least for now.

* * *

"How the hell did you let her get away?!" Beatbox snarled, shoving Nebula against the wall. "We almost had her, and you let her get away!"  
  
She shoved him back, not taking it lightly by being shoved. "She kicked me in the fucking face!" she shouted, gesturing to her bruised and slightly bleeding forehelm. "I doubted you would have held onto her! Besides, if you hadn't have missed, we would have gotten the information already!" Not that she wanted Thornstriker to get killed. She was just making her point.  
  
Novabomb stepped in between the two bickering bots, trying to settle them down. "Now, now - there's always a next time-"  
  
"Stay out of this, you faggot!" both of them snarled at the blue seeker, who just cringed back a bit at the insult as the two soldiers went back to yelling at each other.  
  
Bloodshed was off to the side, leaning up against the crates. The other mech, Crashmeter, was standing next to him and telling him about what he had been able to find on the main computer.    
  
"There wasn't much there," he said. "The whole server was practically wiped clean of any data and any blue prints or schematics of the place have been deleted or the files are corrupt. The most I got was personal information on some of the old employees here, which doesn't help us at all."  
  
"Nothing on the ventilation system here at all?"  
  
Crashmeter shook his helm. "Nope, nothing. Except it says that the little green bot there worked here before. But that's not really useful."   
  
Bloodshed huffed, trying to make sure he didn't relieved. This was a mission. He understood that well and he would execute it out, like he did with all missions. But this mission wasn't like the others. This time, his enemy was none other than Thornstriker, the Autobot he was so deeply and desperately in love with. He knew she had to get that data from her, but he couldn't hurt her. Or at least not kill her, like Beatbox had tried to. Had it not been for the mission, he would have shot Beatbox on the spot.   
  
But he had a part to play. He was the captain, the leader, of this team. He could not allow his emotions to get in the way, he knew this. But that didn't mean he had to kill the green femme. No. He just had to find her first and convince her to give him the data. It would end in peace without Thornstriker getting hurt or killed.  
  
But he had no idea as to where Thornstriker could possibly be. Now that he knew Thornstriker had worked here before the war, it told him that Thornstriker had the territorial advantage over him and his team. She probably knew this place like the back of her hand. Bloodshed would have to think like the scientist to find out where exactly she would be.  
  
And he simply couldn't be certain.  
  
"Hey!" Beatbox said, turning to Bloodshed.  
  
The red mech looked up at the approaching shorter soldier.  
  
"I say we all split up. We can cover a lot more ground that way if we do, you know."   
  
Bloodshed mentally cursed himself as he hesitated. He knew he had to agree to that as it was the logical choice. If he said no, it would be too obvious. It was bad enough that his father and his friends knew about his relationship with Thornstriker. He didn't need anyone else knowing about it, especially those who would be all too willing to rat him out for dead.   
  
"You're right," he said, moving from his spot. "Beatbox, head over to the storage room - see if she ran over. Novabomb, search the second floor with Nebula. Crashmeter, hang around here in case she retreats back here. I'll check over in the lab rooms. If any of us find her, we will bring her back here alive. We don't know whether or not if the data is in Autobot coding and it's better to be safe than sorry if we have a translator. Understood?"  
  
It was a bullshit excuse to keep Crashmeter and Beatbox from killing Thornstriker if either of them caught her. He didn't think they would though, considering he had assigned them areas he was sure the Autobot wouldn't retreat to.    
  
As they broke off to go to their assigned areas, Bloodshed gripped his gun tightly as he headed toward where he believed to where he thought Thornstriker would be at. If he could reach her first, he might have been to gently coax her into giving him the data. That way, he would not have to hurt or kill her and the femme could get away alive.   
  
He took a deep breath, pushing the door open to the lab. This could work. It would work.

* * *

Thornstriker panted hard, still clutching on tightly to the flash drive. She had seriously thought for a moment that Nebula was going to pull her out and kill her. She felt horribly guilty that she had kicked her in the face, most likely injuring her, but she could not go seeking her forgiveness now. She had other matters to worry about.   
  
After crawling through the vents, she retreated into the old laboratory she had worked, which was in the far South side of the building. She doubted anyone would come back here and if they did, she could be able to escape fairly quickly. Or at least that was what she hoped for.   
  
She looked around the room, seeing if she could find anything of use inside. Everything was old and dirty, covering in dust or cracked. It was a shame that everyone had to abandon such a fine facility, but it simply was not safe, what with the war so close to this place and everything.   
  
She walked over to the old locker in the way back. She had kept a weapon in there during her time here, just in case something happened. She couldn’t remember if she had taken it with her or not, knowing that she had left a view things behind on accident. Perhaps the pistol was one of them?   
  
Opening the locker, she was greeted with a heavy cloud of dust. She coughed violently, waving her hand around to keep the dust out of her face. She could see her old lab coat inside, soiled and looking somewhat moldy. She saw a few files in there, most likely not important, and what looked like to be an old sling pack. She also found some old photos of him and a few former colleagues. Fresh out of the Academy and blissfully ignorant of danger.   
  
Primus, they had been fools. But they had worked for a purpose – to improve Cybertron in any way they could.   
  
Rummaging through some old cabinets and pushing some things out of the way, she let out a soft relieved breath when she saw that she had left a few rounds inside the locker. That had to have meant the gun was still here. Just not where she had though them to be.   
  
She took a hold of the sling pack, putting it on and throwing the ammunition as well as the flash drive into the bag, putting it inside one of the pouches inside. She figured it would be better hiding in there than her simply holding onto it.   
  
Thornstriker looked over her shoulder, spotting her old desk. It was covered in grime and dirty, broken datapads on the table that were probably centuries old. Perhaps she left the gun in the drawer. That would seem like the likely choice, considering it wasn’t in the locker.   
  
She walked over to the desk, pushing the chair out of the way as she searched through the drawers. It was hard to repress the big smile that came on her face when she opened the bottom drawer, the old pistol shining in her face. She picked it up and inspected it, relieved to see that no damage had been done to it. It may have been a bit dirty, but it wasn’t rusty, meaning it should have been fine to fire.  
  
She put down her bag, taking out one of the clips. She loaded the gun with it, though it took a few moments, considering she had forgotten how to use this particular laser pistol. Just as she finished loading it, a wave of fear suddenly came over her. She swallowed, setting the pistol down on the desk as she looked at it.  
  
She wasn’t a soldier. She may have been in the war, she may have known how to handle and fire a gun, but she was no soldier. She was a femme of science, of biochemistry. She may have fired a weapon before, but she never had to defend herself like this. None of this kill first or be killed drama.   
  
She had never killed anyone. She had hoped to never be in a situation where she would have to. But now, she was in the position she had hoped to never be in…  
  
Thornstriker shook her helm. It was too late now and it was illogical to wish away the bad things when they were already a reality. She put the gun back into the bag, slinging it over her shoulder again. She took a deep breath, closing his optics as she gripped the strap. She needed to survive. Help would eventually arrive… She just needed to survive.   
  
Just as she opened her optics, the door to her lab opened. She turned around and froze, paling as she saw Bloodshed, holding a rifle and standing in the doorway with his optics locked on the petite femme. Bloodshed hadn’t expected to find her so soon, but he was glad he did. Perhaps he could get this all over with quickly.  
  
The Decepticon took a step into the room, Thornstriker’s letting out a frightened gasp. She reached into her bag, grabbing the gun and pulling it out. Bloodshed’s optics widened when the Autobot pointed the gun at him, not expecting the reaction. But then he took note of her shaking, seeing how frighteneds he was.  
  
Right. She thought he was there to hurt her. He took another step into the room, this time putting his gun down on the floor while holding up his hands. Thornstriker just eyed him suspiciously, still not putting the gun down.   
  
“It’s okay,” he said softly. “I… I’m not going to hurt you.”   
  
Thornstriker inwardly and unconsciously relaxed at the voice. It was the same voice he used when they would spend time alone together, when Bloodshed would hold her up against his chassis, wrap his arms around her tightly, and practically promise to take on the universe just to protect her.   
  
But she still did not lower the gun. Bloodshed was not her lover at the moment. No, he was the enemy. The enemy who wanted to kill her and take the data for his faction. She was no fool. She had to be on high alert.   
  
“Thornstriker, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you… Believe me, please.”   
  
“But… You want the data.”   
  
Bloodshed said nothing as he looked at the other, seeing the fear in her optics. Slowly, he put his hands down, though he kept them at his sides. He wasn’t about to pretend that he had no idea what Thornstriker was talking about. Hell, it was the only reason he was there to begin with.   
  
“Yes.” Bloodshed took a step toward the femme, who stiffened and kept her gun pointed at him. “I do. I need to bring it back.”  
  
“As do I.”   
  
He let out a small huff. So it wasn't going to be as easy as he had hoped for... No matter though. He could convince Thornstriker to give him the data, gently and carefully. Surely she understood that she stood no chance with any of them, if she were to come across any of the other Decepticons. Even Nebula and Novabomb would not be so forgiving - they just wouldn't kill her. Hurt her though? Possibly.   
  
"Thornstriker-"  
  
"D-Don't come any closer," Thornstriker said, trembling a bit as she took a step backwards. "I'm not giving the data to you, Bloodshed. I will not give it up."  
  
His optics narrowed. "Thornstriker, you're a smart femme. It is five against one. We are highly trained soldiers, myself ranking as a captain for this team. You know very well how many bots Novabomb, Nebula, and I have killed. Crashmeter is very capable with a gun and Beatbox... He just likes to hurt people. You're a scientist. You may be able to fire a gun, but you can't take on any of us one to one, let alone five to one."  
  
"I am well aware of the large disadvantage I'm at with you and your team, Bloodshed," she said, her own optics narrowing. Though she was terrified, she was determined. It was he mission to get these to the Autobot base. That was the order and she had her own personal attachment to the data as well.  
  
She and the other scientists, dead or alive, she did not know, had worked hard on this project, had put hours into perfecting the formula. She took pride in her work, especially when it regarded something that could potentially help all of Cybertronian kind. To allow her hard work to fall into the hands of the enemy, so they could claim it as their own and do whatever evil they would do with it? She couldn't let it happen. She  _wouldn't_  let it happen.  
  
"Thornstriker, give me the data. I don't want to hurt you."  
  
"I know you don't," she said quietly, lowering the weapon a bit. She didn't want to hurt Bloodshed either. She didn't want to hurt anyone. She just wanted to get out of here alive and with the data.   
  
"Then don't make me." He took another step toward the other, Thornstriker bringing up her weapon again. Bloodshed inwardly cursed, not wanting things to be this way. He couldn't hurt the other. He would never forgive himself if he did...  
  
But the data. He had to get that data.  
  
"Bloodshed, I mean it," Thornstriker said, her breath hitching. "Y-You stay back."  
  
"Just hand over the data."   
  
"N-No."  
  
Bloodshed took another step forward. "Thornstriker, you know this is the only way you'll get out this alive."  
  
The scientist's grip on her gun tightened.  
  
"Thornstriker, if you give me the data, I can make up a plausible excuse that you escaped, but dropped the data. You can escape unharmed to your side. If you try to run, the others will come for you."  
  
She took another step forward, causing the smaller Autobot to step back as well.  
  
"Novabomb and Nebula won't kill you if they find you, but they will hurt you for that data. They won't risk their lives trying to protect you for me. And the others on my team will kill you if they see fit. I ordered them not to kill you because we might need you as a decoder, but they - Beatbox especially - will not hesitate to kill despite orders. Please, just give me the data and you can run and escape unharmed."  
  
It was logical. It was reasonable. Thornstriker knew no one aside from Bloodshed would hesitate to hurt her. This was her best chance at survival. There was a hundred percent guarantee that no harm would come to her.  
  
But the data. The mission. She couldn't just abandon it to save her own skin. What about her own teammates? All of them were dead, but they all died trying to protect the data. It would be an insult to the dedication her comrades had put up to carry out this mission.  
  
"No."  
  
Bloodshed realized that he could no longer argue with her. Thornstriker had made up her mind and had put down her foot. There was no reasoning with her. Perhaps he should have known. Thornstriker was submissive, but she didn't just roll over for people when she made a stand. Even if it would bring her harm.    
  
It left Bloodshed with no other choice. He would have to disarm her and knock her out. He didn't want to do it, but it was the only way he could get the data and save Thornstriker. The weapon didn't look to be in that great of shape and it looked like one of those old laser pistols, so it wouldn't be too hard to get rid of the thing and it would bounce off his more advanced armor. And after knocking her out, he would hide her and leave her some sort of message, apologizing to her for what he was about to do.  
  
Judging his distance to the small scientist and getting himself ready, he bent just enough to not alert the other before he took off.  
  
Thornstriker saw her lover charging. She wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't shoot him!  But she had to do something!  
  
In the chaos of those few seconds between Bloodshed charging and reaching his goal, the Autobot's finger pressed the trigger just hard enough to discharge her weapon right into the Decepticon's shoulder.  
  
The red mech felt the round pass through his armor and into his body. Shit, the pistol had ammunition, not lasers. And before the war, the material for ammunition-type pistols caused them to be more lethal than the ammunition they had now. It was because of the war that that model got phased out: the material was deemed too valuable to be wasted in ammunition.  
  
In the shock of the pistol going off and hurting him, Bloodshed could not stop his charge, taking Thornstriker with him as they crashed into the old metal filing cabinets. Thornstriker couldn't stop herself from letting out a small, sharp cry as she was forced back into the cabinets. But Bloodshed had managed to wrap his arms around her, holding her to his chassis and keeping her from getting harmed.  
  
The green femme gasped in fright as she realized she was trapped against the other’s chassis, the bang of the shot and of the clang of the metal echoing throughout the entire lab. She reached up to push, only to have her right hand touch something wet.  
  
Thornstriker optics widened as she pulled her hand away to look at it. She froze up in horror when she saw that it was blood. She looked over, gasping when she saw that the red mech’s shoulder was bleeding heavily.   
  
No… No, she didn’t want to actually hurt him… She never meant to hurt him… No… NO!  
  
Bloodshed groaned, sitting up a bit as he brought Thornstriker up as well. His shoulder was bleeding hard and his body ached in pain from crashing into the cabinets. But he would live from his injuries – he had worse. He turned his attention to Thornstriker, glancing down at her to make sure she was all right.   
  
His optics widened when he saw how terrified she looked, her optics on his bloody shoulder. “Thornstriker?”  
  
The femme did not hear him. She was much too focused on the horrid injury she gave the other. She never meant to hurt him… No, it was an accident… It was an accident…  
  
“Bloodshed?! Where are you?!”  
  
The two of them froze when they heard the voice. Bloodshed jerked his helm up at the sound of it. Beatbox. Shit, that mech wouldn’t hesitate to kill any Autobot. Thornstriker was no exception.  
  
Sitting up a bit, though struggling, he pushed Thornstriker to her feet, groaning at the pain in his shoulder.  
  
“Wait, Bloodshed–”  
  
“Shh!” he said harshly but quietly, silencing the femme. He gripped her shoulders tightly, making sure Thornstriker’s focus was on his face and not his wound. “You need to go!”  
  
“B-But–”  
  
“Hey, Bloodshed! Where you at?!”  
  
“Go!” Bloodshed whispered fiercely as Beatbox’s voice got louder. “Please, Thornstriker… Go!”  
  
Thornstriker opened her mouth, as if to protest, but she could hear footsteps making their way over here. She had to leave. If she wanted to live, she had to leave Bloodshed, injured and bleeding by her own fault, behind.   
  
“Please,” the other whispered, trying to push her to her feet. “Go… Please…”  
  
The Autobot bit her bottom lip, only being able to give a nod as she heard the other approaching Decepticon come this way. But she quickly seized the sides of Bloodshed’s face, giving him a soft peck to his cheek, surprising the other as he just stared at her with wide optics.    
  
“I’m so sorry,” Thornstriker mouthed, stroking her cheek before pushing away. She quickly picked up the fallen weapon and her bag, running over to the vent and climbing back into it, crawling through it toward wherever safety was.   
  
Bloodshed could only stare after the femme as she retreated into the ventilation system. He opened his mouth, as if to call after her, but the door to the room burst open. The red mech jerked his helm, seeing Beatbox rush inside.   
  
The light blue and orange mech’s optics widened at the sight of Bloodshed’s injured shoulder. “What the hell happened?!” He rushed over to his captain’s side, trying to help him up.    
  
“Surprise attack,” he grumbled, pushing the smaller mech away from him. He slowly stood up, hissing at the pain in his shoulder. “Call in Crashmeter. I need him to look at this.”  
  
“You call him. I’m gonna find that little Bot and kill her for doing this to you!”  
  
Bloodshed’s optics widened as the sound of that. He reached out to grab Beatbox and tell him to stay put, but the eager Decepticon had already ran out the room in search of the green femme. Oh shit… No… No!  
  
In a panic, he comm.ed Novabomb.  _::Nova, you hearing me?::_  
  
 _:: Bloodshed? What’s wrong::_  
  
 _::It’s Beatbox. He’s going after Thornstriker and he’s gonna kill her. I’m sure of it. I need you to follow him and keep that from happening.::_  
  
 _::Why me? I thought I needed to–::_  
  
 _:: Because if you asked me to do the same thing for Mirage, I would. I’m not asking you to protect her. Just make sure Beatbox doesn’t kill her.::_  
  
There was a long pause before the seeker finally answered.  _::I’m on it. No worries.::_  
  
Bloodshed let out a huff of relief and disconnected his conversation with Novabomb. Though he knew Thornstriker wouldn’t be “safe,” he would live if Novabomb got to her first.   
  
Primus, this was a nightmare, an absolute nightmare. 

* * *

Thornstriker panted hard, resting a hand against the wall as she bent over and tried to catch her breath. She had managed to escape to the upper levels of the base, no one following as far as she knew.   
  
She stood up, her rapidly beating spark rate settling down. She glanced behind her, realized to see no one there. She found herself relieved, especially when she received a message from the Autobot base. They had received of her distress beacon and sent her a message, telling her to be on the roof in ten minutes.   
  
Now it was just a matter of surviving for another ten minutes and getting to the roof.   
  
Clutching her gun tightly, she walked forward, slowly and carefully. If her memory served her correctly, one of the chemical rooms down the hall had an escape ladder to the roof. It was on the last door to the left… Or so she remembered.  
  
She crept down the hallway, flinching or gasping every time she heard a creak here or there. Damn it, she wished she had more courage. Then she wouldn’t be so frighten… And she dearly wished for more strength. She could have used that too.   
  
As she reached the door, she took a quick look behind her. Still, no one in sight. Turning back, she opened the door and peeked inside. She let out a breath of relief when she saw it was the room she was looking for. But then she took a closer look inside and her spark sank a bit.  
  
Like all abandoned buildings, things were not as strong or sturdy as they used to be. But when the metal walkways were suspended high above the ground and above large and emptied chemical bins, it was an issue to do the rust and lose screws all along the walkway. Though everything looked stable at first glance, it sometimes only took a little bit of pressure to cause something to collapse.  
  
She looked around, looking for the ladder. When she found it, she couldn’t help but to groan. Sure enough, there it was… all the way across the room. Primus was either testing her or really hated her. But she had no other choice. She had to cross… somehow.   
  
Carefully, she took a few steps toward, flinching when the runways reeked a bit under the pressure. Primus, she hoped this thing wouldn’t collapse under her, despite the high probability that it might.  
  
She inched forward a bit more, the metal beneath her creaking, but keeping stable. All right, this was good. If she just slowly made her way across, she would be okay. She would–   
  
“Found you, Bot.”  
  
Thornstriker froze up in horror, whipping around and paling when she saw the blue and orange mech smirk darkly at her. Primus, no… Oh Primus, NO!  
  
“Where do you think you’re going?” he said, pointing his rifle at her. “You’ve got something we want, you know.”  
  
Thornstriker backed away in horror. This couldn’t have been happening. This just couldn’t have been happening! This was that Beatbox Bloodshed had warned her about! And like every other Autobot he had come across, Beatbox would kill her.   
  
The Decepticon cocked the gun and aimed it at the little femme, who froze up in terror at the weapon pointed at her. “Orders were to not kill you… But you tried to kill one of our own. I’m gonna fuck you up.”  
  
Then he fired.  
  
Thornstriker luckily snapped out of her horrified state when the blast went off. She threw herself onto the ground, the shot barely missing her shoulder. Beatbox snarled at that, shouting out, “I’ll kill you, Autobot!”  
  
The scientist knew better than to just play dead. She immediately jumped to her feet and ran down the creaky, rusty walkway, not even thinking about how the pressure could cause it to collapse. She had to get to that ladder!  
  
As the green femme ran, Beatbox fired another shot at her, only for the scientist to cry out and duck. He couldn’t help but to laugh. He didn’t know how the green bot was able to injure Bloodshed; this femme was an easy target. Fast, yeah, but in due time, he would corner her.  
  
Then, he would kill her.   
  
“Come back here, you little bitch!” He fired again.  
  
Thornstriker shrieked, barely dodging the shot again. She knew she couldn’t just run in a straight line. She would never make it! She glanced over, seeing a small flight of stairs heading up toward the upper levels of the walkways. He turned, dodging another shot, and ran toward the stairway, glancing back over the Decepticon who was now making his way toward her, pacing himself evenly in between shots.  
  
“You fucking coward! Fight like a real bot!”  
  
Thornstriker just forced herself up the stairs, stumbling a bit as she lost her footing on the creaky, broken steps. She face-planted onto the walkway, groaning in pain. She heard Beatbox laughing, causing her to gasp and turn around as she saw him come up the stairs. He panicked, flipping over and scrambling backwards, unable to get up off the floor due to overall fear.   
  
Beatbox aimed his gun at her, smirking. “End of the line, Autobot.”  
  
Thornstriker just stared at the mech in horror, feeling the world drop beneath her. Oh Primus… This was it. She was going to die. She had failed, miserably. And now the data she and other scientists worked so hard on, the data her fallen teammates had worked so hard to protect, would end up in enemy hands.   
  
But just as the Decepticon had cocked his weapon, they heard someone call out, “Oh you don’t! You kill her, Bloodshed will murder you!”  
  
Both bots jerked over to see Novabomb flying up to them, landing in front of the other Decepticon as he gave him a look. “You know the orders, Beatbox. No. Killing. The Autobot.”  
  
“Get the fuck out of my way, you faggot.”  
  
“You know, your insults are super nasty and super uncalled for,” the seeker said, rolling his optics. “Put your gun down now.”  
  
“She almost killed Bloodshed!”  
  
“Yes, but as far as I know, Bloodshed’s orders haven’t changed.” Yeah, Novabomb wanted the data too, but he wasn’t going to kill the green femme. Bloodshed would just kill him in turn if he did. Besides, he legitimately liked Thornstriker. He had to do what he could to at least keep her alive.  
  
As Novabomb tried to keep Beatbox from killing the Autobot, Thornstriker slowly backed away from the fighting. She glanced over to see the ladder she needed to get to. It was less than fifty feet away. Looking back at the two arguing soldiers and back at the ladder, she had to make a decision now.  
  
She had to  _run_.  
  
Slowly, so not to capture the attention of either mech, she rose to her feet. When they did not jerk away from their argument, she carefully backed away, inching toward the ladder. When they had yet to turn to look at her, she took a deep breath and turned around, making a break for the ladder.   
  
Hearing the walkway creak and clang, both Decepticons jerked their attention to the scientist. Beatbox’s optics widening in fury as he saw the other run and jump up onto the ladder, scrambling up the thin bars to the opening in the roof. Shit! She was trying to escape!  
  
“Get the fuck out of my way!” he snarled, shoving the flier out of the way as he fired his gun at Thornstriker.  
  
The scientist cried out when the shot almost hit her face, the blast hitting the wall instead. It only prompted her to climb up even faster up the ladder, terrified for her life now. Almost there… She was almost there!  
  
Beatbox growled in frustration, cocking his weapon again. But Novabomb shoved him back, yanking his gun away from him and shouted, “Knock it off! We can’t kill her! You know the orders–”  
  
“She's trying to escape!” He didn’t have time for this. The Autobot was getting away! He shoved past Novabomb and ran after the green femme, shouting out, “I’ll get you, you fucking Autobot! And I’ll kill you when I do!”  
  
If her adrenaline wasn’t pumping as fast as it was, Thornstriker would have fainted with fright. But she could not do that here. If she did, she would die and the data would be lost to the enemy. She forced herself to keep moving up, hoping to make it to the roof before Beatbox caught her.  
  
But she had forgotten about Novabomb. She had forgotten how he was a seeker, he was fast, and he could fly. So when two large arms encircled around her waist, she screamed in absolute terror as she was lifted up from the ladder. She struggled violently against the seeker, hearing Beatbox laugh as he climbed the ladder.   
  
“Told you we’d get you, Autobot! Told you!”  
  
Thornstriker almost vomited with fright as Novabomb carried her to the roof, dropping er to the floor hard. She groaned, but tried to crawl away, only for Novabomb to grab her by the throat and lift her up. She froze up in horror as she was brought close to the seeker’s face, who just gave her a look.  
  
“Okay, listen,” he said, softly. “Just hand the little data stick over and Beatbox there won’t kill you. And I won’t have to hurt you either. I’ll just pretend to kill you, okay? Come on, hand it over. Please?”  
  
Thornstriker shivered at the childish voice. She gripped her bag tightly as she glared at the younger mech, whimpering out, “I-I’ll never give it to you. You… You’ll have to kill me first.”  
  
“Well~~~ That’s not an option,” he sang softly. Then he huffed, shaking his helm. “You see, Bloodshed will kill me if I kill you and, believe it or not, I like you. I don’t wanna hurt you. So just had it over and all is well. And hurry it up, since Beatbox is making his way up here.”  
  
Thornstriker inwardly panicked. Damn it, she could  _not_  give up the data! But she didn’t want to die either… She didn’t want to die. She was not a soldier. Damn it, she was a coward! She loathed fighting and wars and death and all of that! She had only joined the Autobots because Perceptor said the Autobots needed more scholars, more scientists… And because she had wanted protection. She was loyal to the cause, yes, but damn it, she was a coward. She didn’t want to die.  
  
“Y-You promise not to kill me?”  
  
Novabomb smiled, dropping her to the floor. “Yep. Just hand it over.”  
  
Thornstriker nodded. Quickly, she reached into her bag, opening up the small hidden pouch in the sack. She swallowed, wrapping her hand around the data tightly as she slowly pulled it out.   
  
Novabomb nodded in approval. “Nice place to keep it hidden.” He stretched out his hand to the Autobot. “Now just give it to me and we’ll be on our merry way.”   
  
That was when Thornstriker looked up at him and gave him a hard glare, stunning Novabomb. Then, in a soft and frightened voice, she whimpered out, “I will…  _never_  give it to you.”   
  
Then, taking the deepest breath she could imagine, she forced the data stick into her mouth, forcing it down her throat. Her gagging reflexes were kicking in, causing her to almost throw up, but she forced her body to accept the object, even if it was rejecting it. As she forced herself to swallow, Novabomb could only watch in complete shock and disgust. She didn’t even know how to react, even when the femme was coughing violently with spittle coming out of her mouth.   
  
She… ate it. She actually swallowed the data. Primus, he had seen a lot of things during his time growing up in an asylum, but that… was just gross.   
  
“Ugh!” he said, repulsed. “You…! You just ate it!”  
  
Thornstriker just panted roughly, glaring up at the other as she wiped her mouth off of spit. Slowly, she rose to shaky feet, reaching into the bag and taking a hold of the pistol to point at the other, much to Novabomb’s shock.   
  
“Now you’ll have to kill me to get the data.”  
  
“Or just punch in the gut and make you hurl.”  
  
“I dare you,” she said softly, her finger just above the trigger. “This… This hurt Bloodshed. I… If I have to, I will hurt you.”  
  
Novabomb opened his mouth, but Beatbox finally made his way onto the roof, his optics absolutely wild with fury. He had overheard what the other Decepticon had said. Hell, the entire planet must have heard what he said. But that only made him even angrier, pulling out a knife from sub space and pointing it at Thornstriker, who paled at the sight of it.  
  
"I will cut you open, you little bitch," he snarled, taking a few steps toward her. "I will rip out your stomach tank to get that data and let you bleed out... You fucked with the wrong mech."   
  
Novabomb grabbed the mech when he charged at Thornstriker, snarling out, "Would you just fucking listen to orders for once?! We can't kill her!"  
  
"I'm not gonna kill her! I'm gonna make her fucking suffer!"   
  
He shoved the seeker to the floor and charged at the scientist, who screamed as they rolled on the floor, the gun being knocked out of her hand and toward the rusty fence on the edges of the building. Beatbox raised the knife and brought it down, Thornstriker moving out of the way just in time before it could hit her neck. She kicked up into the mech's stomach, who rolled off of her in the pain. She ran toward the pistol, only for Beatbox to grab a hold on her ankle. She fell to the floor, Beatbox dragging her back toward him as she struggled violently.  
  
Then nothing but sheer pain erupted through her body as she felt the blade came down hard into her shoulder, causing her to scream out in agony, drowning out Beatbox's insane laughter. "I'll make sure your friends find you and bring you back in pieces!"  
  
Novabomb groaned as he finally found the strength to sit up, optics widening in shock at the image of Beatbox over Thornstriker, the knife deep inside the green femme's shoulder. There were tears falling down her cheeks as she tried kicking up at the mech, but to no avail. Oh shit... Beatbox was really going to kill her. Oh shit!  
  
He jumped to his feet as Beatbox took the knife out of Thornstriker's shoulder. He grabbed the mech and yanked him off the Autobot, pulling him into a chokehold. "Stop it! Bloodshed will kill you if-"  
  
"Fuck Bloodshed! Fuck all of you! You all wanna be pussies?! Fine!" He threw the mech off of him, looking over to see his victim crawling toward the gun. His optics widened. "Oh no you fucking don't!"  
  
Thornstriker gasped and looked over to see Beatbox charging at her. She weakly crawled as fast as she could toward the gun, reaching out to it and taking a hold of it. Without thinking, she turned over, optics widening in horror to see him less then a yard away from her. She only closed her optics and fired the gun.  
  
Beatbox screamed in pain at the shot, stumbling back a bit. Shit, what the hell was that?! That was an actual bullet! He glared at the Autobot, who had opened her eyes and stared at the other in fear as blood poured down his knee. "You fucking-"  
  
Thornstriker fired again when he tried to get closer, this time hitting the mech in the side. He yelled out again, stumbling forward. Thornstriker shrieked and moved out of the way, Beatbox hitting the low metal fencing around the edges of the roof.  
  
But the fence was old, rusty. It didn't have the strength it used to. So when Beatbox slammed against it, the gate fell forward, the Decepticon falling with it. Thornstriker and Novabomb could only watch as Beatbox fell of the roof with the fence, screaming out as he fell down to the ground, helm first, the impact killing him immediately.  
  
A cold silence filled the air.  Nothing could be heard, not even the hum of the machines that still ran the abandoned place. The two on the roof couldn't move. Thornstriker was unable to process the fact that the mech, the Decepticon trying to kill her, was dead.  Dead because of her. Novabomb just couldn't process what had happened.  Beatbox was killed... by Thornstriker. By perhaps the most peaceful and weakest bot in the whole universe.  
  
"What the fuck?"  
  
A purple helm peaked out one of the lower windows. The femme's voice shouted into the air, "The hell is going on?  Nova, are you up there?"  
  
She couldn't see either from her angle, but they could see her trying to glance up at them before she ran back in.  
  
Thornstriker felt faint and ready to vomit. She... just killed someone. She had murdered another mech... But she hadn't meant to. She never wanted to kill anyone... No... NO!  
  
Novabomb just looked at the femme with wide optics. "Wow," he said, breaking the silence. "Never knew you had it in you."  
  
Thornstriker stiffened at the words, looking at the seeker in horror. No... No, she didn't have it in her! This had been an accident! She never meant to kill anyone! She was just trying to protect herself! This wasn't...! No, it wasn't true! She was not a murderer!  
  
Before either of them could move though, they heard a aircraft in the distance. They both jerked their helms, Novabomb paling at the sight of it. Oh shit! An Autobot ship! And it was almost here…! Oh hell, no!  
  
Thornstriker looked back at the seeker, who was already retreating back into the building. She only stared after him, becoming lost in her own thoughts again, even when she felt arms come around her to lift her up. She swore that she could hear Warpath’s voice, shouting and demanding if she was all right.   
  
She could not answer him, even as she was carried onto the ship. She was too focused on the… on  _her_  kill.  
  
She looked to Warpath, who set her down on a berth. It must have been a medical berth, because she saw one of the medics come forward and look over her arm. He was saying something to her, but Thornstriker couldn't focus on what. Even when the medic shined lights in her optics, she didn’t respond.  
  
Murderer. She was… a murderer.   
  
“Thornstriker?!”  
  
The green femme was startled when she felt hands on her arms, forcing her out of her catatonic state. She looked to see Warpath looking at her with wide and concerned optics, terrified as to why she wasn’t responding.  
  
“W-Warpath?” she said, her voice shaking.  
  
“Are you all right? What happened?”   
  
Thornstriker opened her mouth, but nothing came out. What could she say? That she had just murdered someone?   
  
But Warpath was a warrior, a soldier. Thornstriker knew he had killed before. Would he tell Thornstriker that she wasn’t a murderer? That she had been only doing it to protect herself? That this war and war was just murder in the high numbers?  
  
But Thornstriker was not a soldier. She was not a violent femme. In fact, she hated violence. And yet… she had killed someone. She had done the one thing she had hoped to avoid and she had become the one thing she had never wanted to be.  
  
A killer.  
  
“I…”  
  
Warpath perked up when the femme spoke. “What is it, Thornstriker? What’s wrong?”  
  
“I… I think I’m going to throw up.”  
  
It certainly hadn’t been the answer he had been expecting. But he could only watch as Thornstriker turned pale and moved her helm away from the other mech, vomiting hard on the floor. Warpath simply rubbed her back, pausing when he heard something hard hit the floor. He looked down, seeing the data stick in the center of the contents.   
  
He looked at the green femme with confused optics. “You… ate the data?”  
  
Thornstriker coughed violently, rubbing the spittle from her mouth. “I-I had to,” she said gruffly. “I-I couldn’t have them take it from me… From us…”  
  
Warpath shushed her, forcing her to lie down on the bed. “It’s all right, Thornstriker. You did well…” But then he saw tears coming down her face, his optics widening. “Thornstriker, what’s wrong?” He looked to her still bleeding shoulder. “Does it hurt that bad?”  
  
Thornstriker shook her helm. “I did it…” he sobbed. “Primus, I actually did it… And it was an accident…! I never meant to…!”  
  
“Shh, shh…” Warpath whispered, stroking her forehelm. “What happened? What did you do?”  
  
“I-I killed him…!” she sobbed. “I-I’m a murderer…! I k-killed him…!”  
  
Warpath’s hand froze in mid-stroke. Thornstriker… killed someone? She killed a Decepticon? No… No, Thornstriker couldn’t hurt a micro-fly, let alone kill a Decepticon. That wasn’t possible… But it explained why she was left in such a frozen and shocked state. She was a delicate creature, a gentle femme. She did not have it in her to kill others. Defend herself, yes, but not kill.   
  
This was her first kill. She didn’t understand it, Warpath pitying the poor mech. He carefully sat the femme back up again and gently wrapped his arms around her, being mindful of her injury.   
  
“No, no,” he murmured softly. “You’re not a murderer. You didn’t mean to do it. It’s okay, Thornstriker, you’re not a killer… Don’t cry… Don’t cry.”  
  
But that was all Thornstriker could do. She wept hard, seeing herself as some sort of monster. She killed someone… even if it wasn’t on purpose, she still killed someone.  
  
And she could never take it back. 

* * *

“You what?!”  
  
“I’m sorry, My Lord. We were unable to obtain the data.”  
  
Bloodshed and the rest of his team had gone back to base to report on their mission failure to Megatron. They knew he would not be pleased by this, but he had been in an exceptionally bad mood today, so he was even more enraged by the news of his team’s failure.  
  
“You mean to tell me you let one pathetic little Autobot escape with the data?!” Megatron snarled at the red mech.   
  
“She was quick on her feet. She knew where to run, sir.”  
  
“And you all know how to complete your missions, or so I was mistaken,” he growled, glaring hard at the red mech. “You will be punished for your failure. All of you will be.”  
  
“But sir, the mech brought reinforcements,” Crashmeter interjected. “There was no way we could have–”   
  
“Then you fight, you cowardly simpleton! I have no need for your kind in my ranks!”   
  
He turned to the mech, aiming his canon at him and firing out of sheer anger and frustration, the blast killing the mech as his blood splattered, a good portion of it hitting Novabomb, who had been standing right next to him. The seeker’s expression turned into one of horror, fearful that the tyrant could easily just have killed him as he had killed the other. Nebula looked disturbed as well, but Bloodshed’s expression remained the same. Blank and unreadable.  
  
“Get out of my sights,” Megatron snarled. “But do not think any of you will be let off easily. And a failure such as this will not be permitted again. Do you understand?”  
  
“Yes, sir,” the three said in unison. Then they turned away from the other, quietly walking out of the throne room.   
  
Once they were a ways away, Nebula let out a groan, shaking her helm. “You put a stick up his aft today?”  
  
“I think Starscream did something to make him mad again,” Novabomb mumbled quietly.  
  
“Yeah and then he takes it out on all of us.” The femme turned to the red mech in front of them, seeing how quiet he was. She raised an optic ridge. “What’s eating you?”  
  
“Nothing.”  
  
Novabomb sighed. “You upset with what I told you? It wasn’t her fault.”  
  
Bloodshed stopped, turning around to glare at the seeker. His optics widened at the glare. “You think I don’t know that?” he growled. “Nova, we all know she isn’t a violent femme. We all know how… gentle she is.”  
  
“Then why you pissed?”  
  
“Because I know she thinks she’s done something wrong and I will never be able to convince her otherwise!”  
  
When the other two just stared at him, he waved his hand to the other two. “Just leave me alone.” Then he walked away from the two and down the hallway before they could even give him a response. He needed to be alone. He just needed to think.  
  
This was his fault. He should have just have continued to try and knock Thornstriker out, despite the injury the green femme had accidentally given him. Then Thornstriker would have never felt the guilt or fear of her first kill.   
  
When Bloodshed had first killed someone, he was still just a teenager. He had pushed his classmate back in secondary school off the bridge when that mech and a few of his friends had tried to stab out of his optics. But he had not felt guilty for it. Though a bit horrified right after the event, a sense of pride had bubbled up within him once the horror passed. He had had the strength to kill someone, which in turn boosted his incredibly low self-esteem.   
  
Thornstriker was not him, though. Thornstriker was a kind soul, was gentle creature. So when Novabomb told him how Beatbox had died, he knew the green femme was blaming and hating herself.   
  
She didn’t do anything wrong though. She didn’t intend to kill him. Beatbox had fallen against the old and highly unstable fence. Of course it would have broken, no matter who fell against it. Though Bloodshed would not deny that Thornstriker had played a part in it, he could not see it as Thornstriker being a murderer because she wasn’t.  
  
Bloodshed was a murderer. He was a killer. Thornstriker was not and would never be. But the green femme would never see it that way. He knew that.  
  
And there was nothing Bloodshed could say that would ever change Thornstriker’s mind.


End file.
